Braunschweig gets 1st Bundesliga point in 28 years

CIARAN FAHEYSeptember 15, 2013

BERLIN (AP) — Eintracht Braunschweig claimed its first Bundesliga point in 28 years Sunday by fighting back to earn a 1-1 draw with Nuremberg.

Adam Hlousek scored on his return from injury for Nuremberg in the 28th minute when U.S. defender Timmy Chandler whipped in a dangerous cross for the Czech midfielder to convert at the far post. It was Hlousek’s first game since March 2012.

After a period of concerted pressure for the home side, Omar Elabdellaoui finally equalized in the 70th, when Karim Bellarabi held up the ball before setting the defender up to strike to the far corner.

Braunschweig made its return to the topflight this season after a 28-year-absence, but lost its first four games of the season.

“I’d have preferred the three points,” Braunschweig coach Thorsten Lieberknecht. “We also showed in previous games, against (Borussia) Dortmund and (Werder) Bremen, that we have a right to play in this league.”

The promoted side pushed hard for the winner only to be denied repeatedly by the outstanding Nuremberg goalkeeper, Raphael Schaefer, who saved Ermin Bicakcic’s point-blank header on the line and produced two fine stops in injury time.

“If we’d taken all our chances it would have been 6-1,“Bellarabi said.

Lieberknecht, who led the side to promotion from the third division in 2011, was nevertheless encouraged by his side’s performance.

“We’ll do all we can to get the first three points soon. We’re on the right path,” he said.

Earlier, Hoffenheim withstood a late revival from Borussia Moenchengladbach to win 2-1 for its first league victory at home.

Anthony Modeste opened the scoring just before the interval when his header took a deflection from Filip Daems beyond the helpless goalkeeper.

Kevin Volland, who struck the post with a fierce effort in the fifth minute, made it 2-0 in the 54th when he ran onto Modeste’s through ball and eluded two defenders before dispatching the ball inside the far post from a difficult angle.

Moenchengladbach substitute Branimir Hrgota ensured a lively finish when he beat three defenders and then chipped the goalkeeper in the 75th.

“We worked hard for the win to the end,” Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol said.

Hrgota, Max Kruse and Raffael all went close but couldn’t secure the equalizer.

The visitors had the lion’s share of possession but failed to create clear-cut chances until it was too late.

Patrick Herrmann wasted a good opportunity in the first half, Juan Arango hit the side netting in the second, and then Raffael shot straight at Koen Casteels with the goal at his mercy — just before Volland scored what proved to be the winner.

“This defeat is hard to accept, said Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre. “We had a lot of ball possession but the opponent was always able to attack on the counter. The second goal, for example, shouldn’t happen.”